SILICA SIMPLIFIED ⬇️ So.... when silicon and oxygen join forces to make silica (SiO₂), it’s all about sharing electrons because they both want their outer shells to feel “complete” or stable. Silicon has four electrons in its outer shell but wants eight. Oxygen has six and really wants two more to hit that magic number of eight. To solve this, each silicon atom links up with four oxygen atoms, and they share electrons through a process called covalent bonding. Think of it like a group project wh